Our Own Lorax - Jim Otterstrom

"I speak for the trees!!" - the Lorax

"The Lorax is a children's book, written by Dr. Seuss and first published in 1971. It chronicles the plight of the environment and the Lorax, who speaks for the trees against the greedy Once-ler. The book is commonly recognized as a fable concerning industrialized society, using literary element of personification to give life to industry as the Once-ler (whose face is never shown in any of the story's illustrations or in the television special) and to the environment as the Lorax. It has become a popular metaphor for those concerned about the environment." - Wikipedia

Our own Lorax past on to a more peaceful place yesterday.


A toast to the man who influenced lives,

changed the world he touched,

and took the time to teach all those he loved.

My heart hurts to know that the world has lost such a wonderful human. However, I am selfish in the joy that I had known him so well. He was an amazing man in so many ways. We shared many a bottle of wine and too many adventures to count. It was hard to find the right pictures or stories to tell. So speechless I am, yes me, the woman whose family swears I can't ever shut up.

As for now, I am like many others, dealing with the shock, the sorrow, the loss. My bags are packed, my dogs boarded, my car gassed up (sorry Jim it's just too far to ride a bicycle) and me and my family are leaving tomorrow before sunrise to be with Peggy, Jimmy, Jamie and Lois.

Jim Otterstrom - We miss you and will live on in the knowledge that you have imparted upon us. We love you dearly. Rest in knowing that you have changed our lives forever.

Life is too short to ever say -

"maybe someday."

Full Moon Snowshoeing

The following pictures were taken on Wednesday the 19th of January under a brilliant full moon. No flash was used. Pictures were taken by everyone on the hike as we passed the camera around. Enjoy the views while quietly singing

"Moon shadows, moon shadow..." in your head.

Our guiding light of the night

Jim

Shan

Regina

Me

Heading home for a crock pot full of homemade road killed elk stew!!

If a picture is worth a thousand words,

I believe pictures of a full moon snowshoe are worth millions!!

Get Outside and Enjoy Nature

Mother - Son Day at Lemon Reservoir

Monday (MLK observance) was a holiday for some and others had to work. In our family, Jim had to work and Stown and I had the day to play together. We had planned on going up to the mountain and working on our snowboard park skills (jumps, rails, etc.) but I woke up with a wicked sore throat so we decided to take it easy. We loaded the dogs up and took a drive to our property up at Lemon Reservoir. We hadn't ever been up there in the winter and wondered how much snow would be there and if my 2 -wheel drive car would even make it.

Driving up the snow packed road to the land.

The roads run on the east and south of the property.

The trees on the corner are the only trees on the entire plot.

Our snow covered mountain meadow, blanketed with about 3 feet of fluff.

( I can't wait to build our home up here.)

Back down to the frozen lake (reservoir) to let the dogs run. Boy, they sure love the snow!!

Stown (looking like the infamous Bigfoot picture) hiked ahead towards the lake. The wind was whipping but there were no kiters (people who fly huge kites and ski or snowboard behind them) out that day.

Looking south down the lake towards the dam.

We realized that the kiters weren't out due to the thin ice conditions. There were bare spots across the lake where you could see water. A very unusual thing for this time of year. We don't seem to have as much snow as years past but statistics say we are 7% above average. Of course, some placed have gotten an overload where others have been deprived - but that's why they call it an average.

As for now we keep -

Praying for Snow!!

An Expensive Day on the Slopes

So what happens when two snowboarders collide at high speeds, at just the right angle and one of them has a really expensive board and the other has a more affordable board?

The lesser of the two boards is sliced like butter with a hot knife!!

Cut five inches straight down the nose of the board... (Top view)

(Bottom view - note the metal edge cut through and torn back)

And the structure explodes in a delaminated mess.

Well, that's what happens when you go fast.

We were all at the mountain on Sunday, I was teaching with ASA (Adaptive Sports Association) and Jim and Stown were out playing. They came into the school were I was having lunch with my student and were all excited and stammering out bits of a story and most of what I caught was that Stown crashed really hard and exploded his nose. Being a mom I start to freak out a bit until I notice nothing is wrong with his nose. That's when they made it clear that it was the nose of his board.

As the story goes, Jim and Stown were on the backside of the mountain carving down a run when Stown collided with Jim (both were blindsided due to their riding styles). The nose of Stown's board hit the tail of Jim's board with such force and at just the right angle that it was cut in half, while Jim's board sustained only a minor scratch. They managed to ride to the front of the mountain and get to the local board shop at the base area. The thought of repair was beyond consideration due to the damage, if it was a car it would have been "totalled". Jim got a screaming deal on a used board out of the rental fleet ($600 new but we paid a fraction of that). They mounted up the bindings and took it for a test ride. By time they got to me, the deal was done and Stown ended up with a new board that day.

Life happens and sometimes it cost money. I am just glad no one was injured.

Be safe and go fast!!

Reduce, Recycle, Reuse

"Save the Bows!!"

- my Grandma Louise

Piles of paper... (Dinah looks for a way around the tissue mountains.)

Boxes of boxes, Bags of bags...

Bows in a box.

All in an effort to reduce, recycle and reuse.

Years ago Grandma had it right, although as kids we laughed and mocked her running around on Christmas yelling "Save the bows!" at each other. I remember my Grandma with her bags feverishly collecting the discarded bows off the floor every year. I also remember the layers of scotch tape that had built up on the bottom from years of reuse. That was about the only thing I remember my Grandma reusing. Recycle and reduce weren't really words tossed around our house as a child. Saving things was considered "pack-ratting". If so, than I am just that - a pack rat. I haven't bought a gift bag, box or tissue paper in years. I noticed the price on the bottom of one of the bags I was folding - $2.99!! I must be sitting on a small fortune worth of gift wrap. My bags might be crinkled, my tissue slightly torn and my boxes somewhat misshaped but they are free every time. Neatly organized in a tote, I never have the need to rush to the store - just simply out to my shed.

May you find a second life
in the things you might otherwise throw out!!

Scenes from a dogs nose...

Ever wonder what the world looks like from the dog's point of view?

Doug ponders the fence.

Beautifully frozen ice crystals ontop of the fluffy dry snow.

Iron cross

Boldly go where no dogs has gone before... atleast since the last snow.

So many trees to pee on...

why must there be a fence?

First Snowshow of 2011

Yesterday marked the first snowshoe excursion of the year. I don't who was more excited -

us or the dogs. Aspen proceeded to give herself a wonderful snow bath.

Doug tried to follow that big nose of his and just ended up with a face full of snow.

Me & Regina - Shan in the background

We seemed a bit confused to be in the lead, but it made for a fun portrait.

Shan took over and led the way west into the setting sun.

Finally, the top!!

We paused for a few moments to take in the gorgeous mountains we live in lit so vibrantly by the ever sinking sun. Then it was back down to the warmth of our homes, our families and dinner.

Shan and Regina have become wonderful friends over the past year. They live one block away and have two beautiful children whom have befriended Stown. The three kids can often be found cruising the neighborhood, sledding or having snowball fights while we stay home having intellectual exchanges over the current state of the world around us.

May your world be blessed with beauty, light, love and people to share it all with!!

Winter's Bittersweet Gift

We love winter. If we didn't why would we live in Colorado? Winter brings snowboarding, snowshoeing and..... snow shoveling. The last week of December brought us a bunch of the white stuff. We shovel daily - sometimes two or three times a day - but that doesn't always cut it. Sometimes you have to spend your day off playing catch up on the clean up, otherwise it only gets worse as winter goes on.

Stown and I spent New Year's Day shoveling and detailing all the little things, like the path to the shed, the edges of the driveway and librating the trash can from the ice crusted plow truck created snow bank.
Next came the roof. UGH!! Icicles are pretty - until they crash on you, the dogs or bust out a window. (Three winters ago, Jim and I came home to a broken kitchen window because the ice curls towards the house and when it finally broke loose it came crashing through the glass.) So, prompt removal of these "Death-cicles" was definitely on our to do list. (These are quite small compared to other winters, but then again it's only just begun.)

Some people rake leaves - here we rake roofs!!

To help reduce the snow load Stown and I took turns raking the roof - front and back. We managed to remove about 2/3 of the total snow. Then it was inside to warm up. Remember this was the New Years Day and our high was about 10 degrees!!

While we worked through out the day, we knew this would all pay off in the end because our next day off could be spent worry free on the ski slopes.

I hope you're staying warm this winter!!

Holidaze...

December always seems to go so fast. It is such a busy time at work with long hours and late nights and the shorter daylight hours don't help. However, I am thankful for all that December brings - good cheer, visits from family, dinner parties, etc.

Doug helped get us in the Christmas spirit, as Aspen watched with a bit of worry fearful she was next for the dreaded antlers.

Grandma Brandon and Stown decorated our small Christmas "bush". Perhaps I should have told them the ornaments were not edible.

Snug and warm in his new "Yooper" hat,
Stown was ready to settle in for a long winter's nap.

Grandpops and Willy

Of course it wouldn't be Christmas without time spent on the slopes.

Grandma looking stylish in all her toasty warm layers.

Stown hanging and catching a break while the others catch up.

My In-Laws come every year for a week at Christmas time. We eat, laugh, ski and play games. I look forward to this week every year. I guess we all had such a great time that we forgot to take many pictures.

May your Family Time be well spent!!

Another Baking Day...

For Hanukkah Stown decided to give me one of the gifts he had bought for me, a new beater blade for my mixer that scrapes the bowl as it spins. He knew I had a big baking day coming up and could really use it. On a Sunday morning, Jim and Stown went to the mountain for the day, leaving me home alone.

Dressed in my flowered flip flops to match my flowered apron, I addressed the dogs and gave them strict instructions to stay out of my kitchen.
Five hours, four cds, three cups of coffee, two patient dogs

and one floured baker.

The boys came home to a table covered with goodies. Bars, cookies, fudge, bread - I stopped counting after 10 loaves and 28 dozen cookies (not all pictured). They were kind enough to bring home a pizza so I could kick up my heels and retire with a glass of wine for the day.

Most of these delights went out in boxes or bags to various friends, relatives, mail folk, trash men, etc. We still have a few in the freezer but they may be there until February as we are "cookied out" for the season.

Hope you had a delicious holiday season!!

A Chilly Happy New Year!!

BRRRR!!!

Happy New Year - a day late.

We woke up this morning and I had to check my new handy dandy indoor / outdoor thermometer Jim had bought me for Christmas. By the looks of it, I would say it was a bit brisk at 6:30 am. Just one of the cool and useful gifts I had bestowed upon me this year. A few of the others included warm tights and a fleece jacket, a cheese making kit, a hand crank / solar powered radio (AM/FM and 6 weather bands!), wonderful soaps and many other delightful treats.

I hope this year treats us as nice as last year.

Blessings to all in 2011!!